W O R L D

Jubilant Bush promises to unite US
A relieved and jubilant President George W. Bush on Wednesday claimed victory in his
re-election bid saying, “America has spoken” and promised to unite a deeply divided nation. Mr Bush addressed ecstatic supporters in Washington shortly after his challenger Senator John Kerry conceded the election in a speech in Boston.

Bush’s victory a setback for Blair
Tony Blair’s hopes of drawing a line under the Iraq war suffered another Presidential election. Blair allies insisted the result provided an “opportunity” for the Prime Minister to use his position as the President’s closest overseas ally to secure America’s support for a new push on the West Asia peace process.

Pak Govt holds secret talks with Benazir
Islamabad, November 4
The Pakistan Government is holding secret talks with PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto to seek her support for President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to retain dual posts as a quid pro quo for the exiled leader’s return to the country.

Jubilant Bush promises to unite US
Ashish Sen writes from Washington

A relieved and jubilant President George W. Bush on Wednesday claimed victory in his re-election bid saying, “America has spoken” and promised to unite a deeply divided nation.

Mr Bush addressed ecstatic supporters in Washington shortly after his Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts conceded the election in a speech in Boston.

“We had a long night - and a great night,” Mr Bush said.

Mr Bush won 274 electoral votes, three more than in 2000, with Iowa (7 votes) and New Mexico (5 votes) not yet officially in his column. Mr Kerry had 252 votes. To win, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes.

With Ohio’s 20 crucial electoral votes slipping out of his hands, Mr Kerry decided to throw in the towel rather than indulge in protracted legal wrangling similar to the 36-day recount Mr Bush and then Vice- President Al Gore were involved in four years ago.

“We can not win this election,” Mr Kerry told an emotional crowd packed into Boston’s historic Faneiul Hall. “I’m sorry that we got here a little bit late and a bit short.”

The Senator said he would “not give up this fight if there was a chance that we would prevail. But it is now clear that even when all the provisional ballots are counted, which they will be, there won’t be enough outstanding votes for us to be able to win Ohio.”

Mr Kerry, who called Mr Bush at the White House at 11:02 a.m. said he had a “good conversation” with the President. “We talked about the danger of division in our country and the need - the desperate need - for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together,” he said, adding, “Today, I hope that we can begin the healing.”

But the Senator asserted that it was “vital that every vote count, and that every vote be counted.”

“But the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process,” he added.

Mr Bush told his supporters that the man he battled fiercely in a roller-coaster campaign which at times involved stinging personal attacks, had “waged a spirited campaign, and he and his supporters can be proud of their efforts.”

The President also laid out his plan for the next four years. “We’ll continue our economic progress. We will reform our outdated tax code. We’ll strengthen the social security for the next generation. We will make public schools all they can be. And we will uphold our deepest values of family and faith.”

He reaffirmed his pledge to “help the emerging democracies of Iraq and Afghanistan so they can grow in strength and defend their freedom.”

“And then our servicemen and women will come home with the honour they have earned. With good allies at our side, we will fight this war on terror with every resource of our national power so our children can live in freedom and in peace.”

Reaching those goals, Mr Bush said, would require the support of all Americans. Addressing his remarks to those who voted for his opponent, he said, “To make this nation stronger and better I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust. A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation. We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America.”

Mr Kerry sounded a similar note of healing. “We are required now to work together for the good of our country. In the days ahead, we must find the common cause. We must join in the common effort without remorse or recrimination, without anger or rancour. America is in need of unity and longing for a larger measure of compassion,” he said.

The New York Times, which endorsed Mr Kerry with a stinging criticism of Mr Bush on Thursday ran an editorial saying: “Now, most of all, we hope that Mr Bush will balance his enormous and justifiable self-confidence with a large dose of humility. That could mark the beginning of a White House for all people.”

“What you did made a difference,” Mr Kerry told his audience which included running mate Senator John Edwards, both candidates’ wives - Teresa Heinz Kerry and Elizabeth Edwards - their children, and Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

“The time will come, the election will come when your work and your ballots will change the world, and it’s worth fighting for,” Mr Kerry said. “In an American election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans.”

Bush campaign chief strategist Matthew Dowd, in his final campaign missive to supporters, said by defeating Mr Kerry by more than 3.5 million votes, 58.6 million to 55.1 million (51 per cent to 48 per cent) and winning the electoral college 286 to 252, Mr Bush becomes the first presidential candidate to win more than 50 per cent of the popular vote since 1988.

Mr Bush received the most votes by any presidential candidate in history - over 58 million, even breaking President Ronald Reagan’s 1984 mark of 54.5 million votes.

Mr Bush, who in January will enter his second and final term as the President of the United States of America, said he would always be grateful to the people of his home state, Texas.

Bush’s victory a setback for Blair
Andrew Grice and Colin Brown

Tony Blair’s hopes of drawing a line under the Iraq war suffered another Presidential election.

Blair allies insisted the result provided an “opportunity” for the Prime Minister to use his position as the President’s closest overseas ally to secure America’s support for a new push on the West Asia peace process.

He is expected to visit Washington shortly.

But Labour MPs expressed fears that Mr Blair would receive no “payback” and warned that President Bush might be more willing to act unilaterally against countries such as Iran after winning a new mandate.

British ministers issued a “business as usual” message, saying the US result had at least brought certainty. They urged President Bush to “re-engage” with countries such as France and Germany to heal the wounds left by the Iraq conflict and hope that European Union leaders will respond positively at a two-day summit in Brussels starting today.

Privately, Mr Blair would have preferred a John Kerry victory, which could have provided a fresh start on the international agenda and helped him to end the damaging rift with his party - and many voters - over Iraq.

Robin Cook, the former British Foreign Secretary, said: “If you took a poll of the staff of Downing Street, you would find them very disappointed today because they were hoping for an outcome that would enable Tony Blair to draw a line under Iraq. He is denied the chance of having a new partner with whom he would work and a new agenda for international relations that does not come with the baggage of Iraq.” Mr Cook urged Mr Blair to say “No” if hawks in the Bush administration persuaded the President to attack another country and he asked for Britain’s support.

Some Blair advisers admitted privately that President Bush’s re-election would ensure that Iraq enjoyed a higher profile in the run-up to the general election expected next May. They fear that the looming military attack on Fallujah, the Iraqi elections, and a Senate inquiry into the failure to find weapons of mass destruction will add to Mr Blair’s woes over Iraq.

The damage that his closeness to President Bush can cause Mr Blair in Britain is symbolised by his failure to collect the US congressional gold medal he was awarded after the Iraq war.

But Downing Street insiders said Mr Blair “couldn’t win” over the US election. “If Bush had lost, the British media would have seen it as a defeat caused by Iraq and said the PM was heading for the same fate,” one said.

In the Commons, Mr Blair said progress in the West Asia peace process, along with democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, would be the “single most significant contribution we can make” to reducing terrorism.

But Labour MPs were dismayed by the election result and doubted that Mr Blair’s neutrality during the campaign or his support over Iraq would buy him any extra leverage.

— By arrangement with The Independent, London

Pak Govt holds secret talks with Benazir

Islamabad, November 4
The Pakistan Government is holding secret talks with PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto to seek her support for President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to retain dual posts as a quid pro quo for the exiled leader’s return to the country.

The Daily Times reported today that the secret dialogue between the government and Ms Bhutto was under way.

Quoting inside sources, the newspaper said the government was seeking Ms Bhutto’s support for General Musharraf’s decision to remain the Army chief.

In exchange, the government had offered a package to Ms Bhutto that includes release of her husband Asif Zardari from prison, her safe return to Pakistan and elevation to the chairmanship of the Senate.

However, it said the main hurdle related to the status of the cases against Ms Bhutto and her husband.

Ms Bhutto wants a complete and unequivocal withdrawal of the cases while the government is insisting that she should fight them out in the courts without undue interference from Islamabad.

The newspaper, quoting sources, said it was one of the reasons why Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had alluded to the courts in his statement on a proposal by Senator Mushahid Husain last week to release Mr Zardari, Mr Yousaf Raza Gilani and Mr Javed Hashmi from prison, as a confidence building measure aimed at national reconciliation.

The Daily Times also said a small group of Pakistan Muslim League (Quami) leaders will meet General Musharraf in the next few days and urge him to form a committee which would examine the suggestions advocated by Senator Mushahid Husain in the Senate last week. — UNI

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